iv poz mag.qxd - Positive Living BC

issue 50.qxd:liv poz mag.qxd 9/3/07 4:04 PM Page 40
Last Blast
Thinking positive
Reaping the rewards of The Secret
by Denise Becker
Afew years ago, my husband Lloyd and I were visiting his
aunt, when she brought out a copy of the family tree.
She proudly pointed to its most famous member,
Andrew Carnegie. Andrew Carnegie came from humble
beginnings in Scotland yet became the richest man in America
and one of its greatest philanthropists. He’s the Carnegie in
Carnegie Hall and he gave millions to build libraries so that
everyone had a chance to read for free and improve themselves.
Many people point to his steel business as the reason for his
massive wealth but he knew that the small group of wealthiest
people in America had something different about them. So he
commissioned Napoleon Hill to write a book, Think and Grow
Rich, which explained that “the secret” was in how the richest
people thought.
Like a Cheshire cat, I grinned from
ear to ear, waiting for my next CD4
test. I shook my head and tossed my
new, silkier, vitamin-improved hair
around my shoulders while the lab
technician drew the blood
Unless you were at the North Pole or in a jungle for the last
year, you’ll surely be familiar with the best-selling book and
movie, The Secret. (If this was an audio Last Blast, you would
have just heard me whisper those last two words.) The Secret is
about the law of attraction: how quantum physics gives us the
power to attract the good—or the bad—to us. The movie puts it
in simple terms: think about how bad life is and the bad will
continue, think about how good things are and—presto!—good
things will happen to you.
I was fascinated and convinced. Life changed for me the
moment I saw the movie.
One interesting scene in the film is when a feng shui guru
talks to a man about the negative paintings he has in his
house. For me, that seemed to be a good place to start. My
favourite piece that I had painted, “Ground Zero,” was hanging
in my kitchen. I love that painting, but it wasn’t a good way to
start in the morning, with the twin towers engulfed in fire. I
had made too much burnt toast recently. It all made sense. The
painting now hangs in a quiet corner of the living room.
I looked at my fridge magnet with the quote, “Be the
change you want to see in the world,” by Mahatma Gandhi.
We were already saying “no more” to ridiculous prices for
third-world HIV therapy. We were protesting needle exchange
closures. Women were getting tested for HIV during pregnancy,
resulting in far fewer babies born with the disease. I was
beginning to feel like Bridget Jones, walking confidently.
Life was good.
I went to the beach and picked out a gratitude rock. Each
time I rubbed it I was going to be grateful for what I had. I
wasn’t going to wallow in a “poor me with HIV” attitude. I
was going to concentrate on getting myself to a better place. I
realized nothing would change without me making an effort.
Like a Cheshire cat, I grinned from ear to ear, waiting for
my next CD4 test. I shook my head and tossed my new, silkier,
vitamin-improved hair around my shoulders while the lab
technician drew the blood. It didn’t even hurt. Why would it?
Nothing would bother me again.
A week later, there was no sign of my blood sample at the
hospital, so I took another blood test. No big deal. I couldn’t
help jumping up and down when my blood came back 200
CD4 cells higher—the best ever! And all because I had stumbled
on “The Secret.”
Two days later, I got a call from my doctor’s office saying
they had found my original blood sample. It was 400 CD4
cells lower than the one taken on Friday. What? How could
that be? Calm down, think positive, think positive, I kept
telling myself. My overall percentage was excellent. Life is good.
It’s happening, and it’s going to get better!
Sure, it can be incredibly challenging to think positive when
the world around you sucks. But it’s so much better for me to
have hope than to be hopeless.
Live your best life and the world will make a shift for
the better. 5
Denise Becker is the founder of the Hummingbird
Kids Society. She lives in Kelowna.
40 living5 SeptemberqOctober 2007